


Not Like You

by Enx2103



Category: Life with Derek
Genre: F/M, Greenhouse, the bachelor - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:49:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27961811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enx2103/pseuds/Enx2103
Summary: “Sometimes, it doesn't feel like you even like me, if i'm being honest,” he admitted. And it looked like it was hard for him to admit. He was a pretty boy used to getting every girl he wanted.
Relationships: Casey McDonald & Derek Venturi, Casey McDonald/Derek Venturi
Comments: 13
Kudos: 30
Collections: Look What Discord Made Me Do





	Not Like You

**Author's Note:**

> Writing Challenge from A Dollop Of Dasey discord.  
> Prompt: Greenhouse  
> Written/Edited in 30 mins
> 
> No beta. 30 mins. I repeat. No beta. 30 minutes.

Casey walked along the rows of exotic plants and flowers, inhaling the earthy scent. She was happy. Happier then she had been since she stepped foot in that house. The greenhouse, a glass building that sat on the edge of the massive estate was _glorious._ It seemed like the kind of place a wedding took place in, or something equally as special. Casey could tell that someone spent a lot of time caring for each and every one of those plants. It was clearly a labor of love.  
  
She wondered briefly if they played music for the plants? Did that help them grow and thrive? Maybe Derek could point her in the direction of the greenskeeper... She loved plants but couldn't keep one alive to save her life; her poor little succulent was hanging on by a thread, and they were supposed to be the easiest kind of plant to take care of.  
  
She caught Derek watching her from the corner of her eye.  
  
She flushed, embarrassed of her reaction. But more so of being caught by him. “It’s beautiful,” she commented, stating the obvious. At least obvious to her.  
  
“Yeah. You are,” he easily countered, as if it were a fact, and not a compliment.  
  
That simple comment put Casey’s head back in the game. The stupid _stupid_ game to win his heart. She mentally cursed her little sister who encouraged her to sign up. She never thought she'd be selected. She was nothing special. But there she was. In the top 10, walking through a greenhouse with Derek Venturi.  
  
“ _Soooo_ ,” she drew out, ignoring his comment. Her attitude was back in full effect.  
  
She hadn't been particularly _nice_ to him. Not really. And yet he kept her there. Week after week. She was confused. There were girls who threw themself at his feet, yet she remained. He must have liked her spunk. Her passion to argue with him at every turn.  
  
He was an interesting man, she’d give it to him. Nothing like what she thought he'd be. Well, a little like she thought. He was entirely too handsome, with a killer smile and too charming for his own good. But he was also kind of raw and dominant, something she didn't know she liked till he came along and showed her.  
  
“How many girls have you brought out here?” she asked. She couldn't help but ask. She felt a twinge of jealousy wash over her. She wasn't _supposed_ to care. She wasn't supposed to be invested. He’d be sending her home in a few days, she knew it.  
  
“None,” he admitted. “None would appreciate this. Not like you,” he smiled. And Casey wasn't sure if it was a dig or not.  
  
They reached a bench at the far end of the greenhouse. A place to sit and admire the view. Derek pointed to it, offering it to her.  
  
“Can I ask you something,” he started, once they were seated.  
  
“Hmm?” Casey asked bending over to smell a nearby rose.  
  
“Do you _want_ to be here?” he asked, bluntly.  
  
Casey sat up straight, turning to him. “What?” Suddenly the humidity of the room was sticking out her skin and she was nervous. Why had he asked her such a ridiculous question?  
  
Derek chuckled softly, throwing an arm over the back of the bench. Not quite touching her, but his fingers caught the ends of her hair. “I just…” he trailed off, licking his lips. “Sometimes, it doesn't feel like you even _like_ me, if I’m being honest,” he admitted. And it looked like it was hard for him to admit. He was a pretty boy used to getting every girl he wanted.  
  
Casey pursed her lips, considering her answer. She was very calculated in everything she did in her life. Except this. “I wouldn't be here if I didn't like you,” she offered, hopping the answer would suffice.  
  
Derek just stared at her, a knowing smile on his lips. “You’re different,” he finally said. And that time, it did sound like a genuine compliment.  
  
“Good different?” she asked, her heart racing in her chest as slowly Derek leaned into her space.  
  
She smelled his cologne, mixed with his deodorant maybe, clouding up all the earthy scents she had been enjoying. She felt his warmth press in, along her neck and the side of her face. She didn't dare turn her face to meet his eye, their lips might brush if she did, and they hadn't kissed. Not since she had been there...  
  
“You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t,” he whispered, his lips brushing the shell of her ear, his breath sending shivers down her spine.  
  
Casey closed her eyes and breathed in him, letting herself get acquainted with all of him.  
  
It was all _supposed_ to be a joke. Something fun to do on a girls night. She wasn’t supposed to get picked. She wasn’t supposed to be sitting there next to him, surrounded by life itself, moonlight shining through the glass paneled ceiling illuminating them. In the moment Casey could almost ignore the feeling the cameras zoomed in on them. In the moment she could pretend that it was just them, alone in the world.  
  
Slowly she opened her eyes and met his stare. Their lips only breathe apart. His golden eyes twinkling with intensity she could have only dreamed of. It was then that she realized that she had messed up.  
  
She had fallen for the bachelor.


End file.
